Xterra Waiuku 2018

Xterra Waiuku 2018

29th July 2018
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2888911225
http://totalsport.racetiming.co.nz/competitions/1623


Waiuku is always a great run - heaps of fast rolling single track, with a good dose of sand and hills thrown in.

Will drove me and Neville out to Waiuku. We were all feeling reasonably good, albeit with a few lingering head colds and minor snuffles. I had 2 goals today - try to beat Will and Nev (naturally!), and try to beat my times from 2017 and 2016, when I ran 1:51:30 and 1:51:36.

The day threatened to rain, but turned out beautiful! The event base is on the south side of Port Waikato, which looked great in the morning sun. There wasn't much wind, and lovely conditions.

The terrain is pine forests on sand.

We met the normal bunch of diehards: Pauline (doing the mid), Gilly, the Buillots / Juliette, Liam, Michal Petrus, Emma, etc. Brett was a no-show with a sore hammy. Barnaby was a no-show just because.

And then it was race start! The three of us ran mostly together for the first sections.
Nev and I lead out initially (with Will playing it cool a little back). We were pushing a pretty aggressive pace, and the minor hills and soft sandy ground were keeping us honest.

After 6 or 7 km, Nev started to tire, and slowed a bit, while Will moved up to me. We kept each other working hard for another 4 or 5 km, until we were out the back of beyond.

Will was scared by a gorilla stepping out...

After that, I slowly drew away from Will, and ended up about 300m ahead by the beach section, and 2.5 minutes ahead by the end. 22.56km by my watch.

I didn't use my camelbak, just a couple of quick reusable cups of water to wash down some gels.

I totally enjoyed the soft underfoot conditions - most of the run was either sandy, pine needles or slightly muddy, so it was a great workout without feeling that it was destroying my joints :)
Lots of really fast downhill blasts!

The beach bits were tough, although the sand wasn't totally soft. There had been recent rain, but the trail in general was very dry, and by the end my shoes were barely muddy.

With 4km to go, there is a HUGE mud puddle, with waist deep water! The organisers were shepherding everyone through it, but we three all managed to skirt the edge and avoid getting soaked! (Perhaps next year?)

I failed to beat my previous times (nearly the same course today, but with one extra hill thrown in after the beach section), running 1:54:32 (3 minutes slower). (Crikey, I don't see how I could have gained 3 minutes...!)
Will did 1:57:02 (2nd in masters) , and Nev 2:03:11 (6th in masters)

We all made it through successfully. The sausages (2) tasted great, although that 1Above drink is impressively horrible!